Recent mis-selling scandals should have made banks more careful about how they sell investment products to their customers. However, mis-selling continues to be a problem, and if you’re thinking of investing, it’s important to know how to protect yourself against it.
Losing money is a risk any investor has to accept, and most people do accept it. But every investor, no matter what their level of experience, deserves to understand exactly what they are risking and where their money is going. When a high street bank is found to have systematically mis-sold thousands of investments – usually preying on older customers with savings to invest – the level of outrage it sparks is understandable.
The high street banks have hit the headlines again and again for mis-selling investment products to their customers, many of whom have lost large sums of money – sometimes their entire life savings – because the likes of Barclays, Lloyds and RBS convinced them to make completely unsuitable investments. The banks have each paid out millions of pounds in fines and compensation, but sadly, it looks as though investment mis-selling will continue to be endemic in 2016.
We’ve put together the biggest investment mis-selling news stories from the last month to help you stay informed. An investment is mis-sold if you lose money on your investment as a result of poor financial advice from your bank or advisor.
Firms should be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority before they offer you financial advice. If your firm is not on the FCA’s approved list, we would advise you to proceed with caution.
Most people are aware of the potential pitfalls when investing money, and these days, they’re especially aware of the risk of investment mis-selling. Poor advice, lack of risk assessment and reluctance to offer a full range of products are common issues, and all are grounds to make a claim.
It’s safe to say that the various mis-selling scandals of the last decade have shaken British people’s trust in their financial institutions. In fact, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in conjunction with the Warwick University Business School recently released a report that reveals just how low our trust in our banks has fallen – and why.
As reports increase of banking mis-selling and compensation claims against UK banks continue to rise, claims are also increasing against independent financial advisers. These IFAs are finding themselves implicated through their recommendation of certain banking products, and suffering the knock-on effect of heightened Professional Indemnity (PI) rates.
Despite continuous warnings, fines, apologies and promises to do better, mis-selling and misconduct remains a problem in British banking. Barclays are the latest bank to suffer a high-profile scandal after being fined £72 million by city regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – a strong indication that the era of banking misbehaviour is not yet a thing of the past.
Many investment mis-selling complaints made to the Financial Ombudsman Service are related to inadequate investment advice. Customers report that their financial adviser did not provide them with a full range of options, or suggested an investment product that wasn’t suited to their needs.
Simply pick up the phone and call one of our friendly experts today on 0808 301 8664.
Alternatively enter your details into the call back form at the bottom of the page and we’ll contact you straight away.
We've helped thousands of people win compensation as a result of unsuitable financial advice.
Please note the amounts shown are before the deduction of our fee which is 40% plus Vat – total 48%.
I’m absolutely delighted with the service we got from Goodwin Barrett, I couldn’t believe how easy it was and i’ve nothing but praise for them
This was an excellent result which my wife and I never expected. My sincere thanks to you for such an excellent achievement, I cannot thank you enough
After sending a report to Santander, they agreed with our findings and awarded Mr Snowden an amount of £7,000 made up from a refund of the losses together with interest and compensation.
This was a fantastic result I never expected. My sincere thanks for such a prompt and efficient service.
I am so grateful to your company but especially to Steve Wise for getting me the money back
We reported our findings to Halifax and within a matter of weeks had secured our client the sum of £26,700 in compensation.
After we sent a detailed complaint to Halifax, Fred was delighted to receive £6,916 from the bank in a matter of weeks.
Having investigated the complaint Lloyds TSB agreed that the advice was unsuitable and agreed to pay the clients £10,000.
